Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Depth profiles of plankton, particulate organic matter and microbial activity in the eastern Canadian Arctic during summer

  • Published:
Polar Biology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Summary

Deep profiles of particulate organic matter, microplankton (phytoplankton and bacteria), zooplankton and their metabolic activities were investigated during two summer voyages to the eastern Canadian Arctic. Magnitudes and depth distributions were similar in many respects to observations from temperate and tropical waters. Strong gradients in most properties were observed in the upper 50–100 m and subsurface maxima were generally associated with the upper mixed-layer (>50 m). In addition to the general vertical decreases in plankton biomass and metabolic activity there was evidence for both rapid transport (sinking) of organic matter and for enhanced (above background) levels of microbial metabolic activity in deep waters (>500 m). Zooplankton depth distributions differed from the pattern generally observed at lower latitudes; in the Arctic, zooplankton abundance decreased to a lesser degree with depth than particulate organics and microplankton. The overwintering behavior of high-latitude zooplankton appeared to be the best explanation for their relatively high abundance at depth. Despite this, however, zooplankton apparently contributed little to the total column community metabolism.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander V, Niedrauer HJ (1981) Oceanography of the eastern Bering Sea ice-edge zone in spring. Limnol Oceanogr 26:1111–1125

    Google Scholar 

  • Alldredge AL (1979) The chemical composition of macroscopic aggregates in two neritic seas. Limnol Oceanogr 24:855–866

    Google Scholar 

  • Ammerman JW, Fuhrman JA, Hagstrom A, Azam F (1984) Bacterioplankton growth in seawater. 1. Growth Kinetics and cellular characteristics in seawater cultures. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 18:31–39

    Google Scholar 

  • Andersen L, Dyrssen D (1981) Chemical constituents of the Arctic Ocean in the Svalbard area. Oceanol Acta 4:305–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Holm-Hansen O (1973) Use of tritiated substrates in the study of heterotrophy in seawater. Mar Biol 23:191–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Beers JR, Campbell L, Carlucci AF, Holm-Hansen O, Reid FMH, Karl DM (1979) Occurrence and metabolic activity of organisms under the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica, at station J9. Science 203:451–453

    Google Scholar 

  • Azam F, Fenchel T, Field JG, Gray JS, Meyer-Reil LA, Thingstad F (1983) The ecological role of water-column microbes in the sea. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 10:257–263

    Google Scholar 

  • Baross JA, Morita RY (1978) Microbial life at low temperatures: ecological aspects. In: Kushner DJ (ed) Microbial life in extreme environments. Academic Press, London New York, pp 9–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Bern L (1985) Antoradiographic studies of (methyl-3H) thymidine incorportation in a cyanobacterium (Microcystis wesenbergii)-bacterium association and in selected algae and bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 49:232–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird DF, Kalff J (1984) Empirical relationships between bacterial abundance and chorophyll abundance and chlorophyll concentration in fresh and marine waters. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 41:1015–1023

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop JKB, Edmond JM, Ketten DR, Baconard MP, Silker WB (1977) The chemistry, biology, and vertical flux of particulate matter from the upper 400 m of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res 24:511–548

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop JKB, Ketten DR, Edmond JM (1978) The chemistry, biology and vertical flux of particulate matter from the upper 400 m of the Cape Basin in the southeast Atlantic Ocean. Deep-Sea Res 25:1121–1161

    Google Scholar 

  • Bodungen B von, Smetacek VS, Tilzer MM, Zeitzschel B (1986) Primary production and sedimentation during spring in the Antarctic Peninsula region. Deep-Sea Res 33:177–194

    Google Scholar 

  • Bratbak G, Dundas I (1984) Bacterial dry matter content and biomass estimations. Appl Environ Microbiol 48:755–757

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan RA, Sekerak AD (1982) Vertical distribution of zooplankton in Eastern Lancaster Sound and Western Baffin Bay, Canada, July–October 1978. Arctic 35:41–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Childress JJ (1975) The respiratory rate of midwater crustaceans as a function of depth of occurrence and relation to the oxygen minimum layer off southern California. Comp Biochem Physiol 50:787–799

    Google Scholar 

  • Chrost RH, Faust MA (1983) Organic carbon release by phytoplankton: its composition and utilization by bacterioplankton. J Plankton Res 5:477–493

    Google Scholar 

  • Conover RJ, Cota GF (1985) Balance experiments with arctic zooplankton. In: Gray JS, Christiansen ME (eds) Marine Biology of Polar regions and effects of stress on marine organisms. Proc 18th Eur Mar Biol Symp. Wiley and Son, pp 217–236

  • Conover RJ, Corner EDS (1968) Respiration and nitrogen excretion by some marine zooplankton in relation to their life cycles. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 48:49–75

    Google Scholar 

  • Copin-Montegut C, Copin-Montegut G (1983) Stoichiometry of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous in marine particulate matter. Deep-Sea Res 30:31–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullen JJ (1982) The deep chlorophyll maximum: comparing vertical profiles of chlorophyll a. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 39:791–803

    Google Scholar 

  • Dawson JK (1978) Vertical distribution of Calanus hyperboreus in the central Arctic Ocean. Limnol Oceanogr 23:950–957

    Google Scholar 

  • Devol AH, Packard TT, Holm-Hansen O (1976) Respiratory electron transport activity and adenosine triphosphate in the oxygen minimum of the eastern tropical North Pacific. Deep-Sea Res 23:963–973

    Google Scholar 

  • Fellows DA, Karl DM, Knauer GA (1981) Large particle fluxes and the vertical transport of living carbon in the upper 1500 m of the northeast Pacific Ocean. Deep-Sea Res 28:921–936

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson RL, Rublee P (1976) Contribution of bacteria to standing crop of coastal plankton. Limnol Oceanogr 21:141–145

    Google Scholar 

  • Findlay SEG, Meyer JL, Edwards RT (1984) Measuring bacterial reproduction via rate of incorporation of (3H) thymidine into DNA. Microbiol Methods 2:57–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrman JA, Ammerman JW, Azam F (1980) Bacterioplankton in the coastal euphotic zone: distribution, activity and possible relationships with phytoplankton. Mar Biol 60:201–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrman JA, Azam F (1982) Thymidine incorporation as a measure of heterotrophic bacterioplankton production in marine surface waters: evaluation and field results. Mar Biol 66:109–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Garfield PC, Packard TT, Friederich GE, Codispoti LA (1983) A subsurface particle maximum layer and enhanced microbial activity in the secondary nitrite maximum of the northeastern tropical Pacific Ocean. J Mar Res 41:747–768

    Google Scholar 

  • George RJ (1981) Functional adaptation of deep-sea organisms. In: Vernberg JJ, Vernberg WB (eds) Functional adaptations of marine organisms. Academic Press, pp 279–332

  • Gillespie PA, Morita RY, Jones LP (1976) The heterotrophic activity for amino acids, glucose and acetate in Antarctic waters. J Oceanogr Soc Japan 32:74–82

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DC (1971) Distribution of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen at an oceanic station in the central Pacific. Deep-Sea Res 18:1127–1134

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DC (1977) Variability of particulate organic carbon and nitrogen along the Halifax-Bermuda section. Deep-Sea Res 24:257–270

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DC, Wangersky PJ, Sheldon RW (1979) Detailed observations on the distribution and composition of particulate organic matter at two stations in the Sargasso Sea. Deep-Sea Res 26:1083–1092

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon DC, Cranford PJ (1985) Detailed distribution of dissolved and particulate organic matter in the Arctic Ocean and comparison with other oceanic regions. Deep-Sea Res 32:1221–1232

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson RB, Lowery HK (1983) Nucleic acid synthesis in the oceanic microplankton from the Drake Passage, Antarctica: evalution of steady-state growth. Mar Biol 73:79–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson RB, Lowery HK, Shafer D, Sorocco R, Pope DH (1983a) Microbes in Antarctic waters of the Drake Passage: vertical patterns of substrate uptake, productivity and biomass in January, 1980. Polar Biol 2:179–188

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanson RB, Shafer D, Ryan T, Pope DH, Lowery HK (1983b) Bacterioplankton in Antarctic ocean waters during the late austral winter. Abundance, frequency of dividing cells, and estimate of production. Appl Environ Microbiol 45:1622–1632

    Google Scholar 

  • Harder W, Veldkamp H (1971) Competition of marine psychrophilic bacteria at low temperatures. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek. Microbiol Serol 37:51–63

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison WG (1986) Respiration and its size-dependence in microplankton populations from surface waters of the Canadian Arctic. Polar Biol 6:145–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison WG, Platt T, Irwin B (1982) Primary production and nutrient assimilation by natural phytoplankton populations of the eastern Canadian Aretic. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 39:335–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrison WG, Head EJH, Conover RJ, Longhurst AR, Sameoto DD (1985) The distribution and metabolism of urea in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Deep-Sea Res 32:23–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Head EJH, Harris LR (1985) Physiological and biochemical changes in Calanus hyperboreus from Jones Sound NWT during the transition from summer feeding to overwintering condition. Polar Biol 4:99–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman AW (1983) Vertical distribution patterns of copepods, chlorophyll and production in Northeastern Baffin Bay. Limnol Oceanogr 28:709–719

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman AW, Mitchell MR, Young SW (1984) A continuous pump sampler for profiling copepods and chlorophyll in the upper oceanic layers. Deep-Sea Res 31:439–450

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodson RE, Azam F, Carlucci AF, Fuhrman JA, Karl DM, Holm-Hansen O (1981) Microbial uptake of dissolved organic matter in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. Mar Biol 61:89–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O (1969) Determination of microbial biomass in ocean profiles. Limnol Oceanogr 14:740–747

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O (1971) Determination of microbial biomass in deep ocean profiles. In: Costlow JD (ed) Fertility of the Sea, Vol. 1. Gordon and Breach Science Publishers, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O (1972) The distribution and chemical composition of particulate material in marine and fresh waters. Mem Ist Ital Idrobiol 29:37–51

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O, Booth CR (1966) The measurement of adenosine triphosphate in the ocean and its ecological significance. Limnol Oceanogr 11:510–519

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O, Lorenzen CJ, Holmes RW, Strickland JDH (1965) Fluorometric determination of chlorophyll. J Cons Int Explor Mer 30:3–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O, Strickland JDH, Williams PM (1966) A detailed analysis of biologically important substances in a profile off Southern California. Limnol Oceanogr 11:548–561

    Google Scholar 

  • Holm-Hansen O, Azam F, Carlucci AF, Hodson RE, Karl DM (1977) Microbial distribution and activity in and around McMurdo Sound. Antarctic J US 12:29–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Honjo S (1980) Material fluxes and modes of sedimentation in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones. J Mar Res 38:53–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoppe H-G (1978) Relations between active bacteria and heterotrophic potential in the sea. Neth J Sea Res 12:78–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin B, Harrison WG, Gallegos CL, Platt T (1980) Phytoplankton productivity experiments and nutrient measurements in the Labrador Sea, Davis Strait, Baffin Bay and Lancaster Sound from 26 August to 14 September 1978. Fish Mar Ser Data Rep 213:1–103

    Google Scholar 

  • Irwin B, Platt T, Caverhill C (1985) Primary production and other related measurements in the eastern Canadian Arctic during the summer of 1983. Can Data Rep Fish Aquat Sci 510:1–143

    Google Scholar 

  • Jensen LM (1983) Phytoplankton release of extracellular organic carbon, molecular weight composition, and bacterial assimilation. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 11:39–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Jespersen P (1934) The Godthaab Expedition 1928. Copepoda. Meddelelser om Gronland 79:1–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Joint IR, Morris RJ (1982) The role of bacteria in the turnover of organic mauer in the sea. Oceanogr Mar Biol Ann Rev 20:65–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones EP, Dyrssen D, Coote AR (1984) Nutrient regeneration in Deep Baffin Bay with consequences for measurements of the conservative tracer NO and fossil fuel CO2 in the ocenas. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 41:30–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Karl DM (1980) Cellular nucleotide measurements and applications in microbial ecology. Microbiol Rev 44:739–796

    Google Scholar 

  • Karl DM, Knauer GA (1984) Vertical distribution, transport, and exchange of carbon in the northeast Pacific Ocean: evidence for multiple zones of biological activity. Deep-Sea Res 31:221–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Karl DM, Knauer GA, Martin JH, Ward BB (1984) Bacterial chemolithotrophy in the ocean is associated with sinking particles. Nature 309:54–56

    Google Scholar 

  • King FD, Devol AH, Packard TT (1978) Plankton metabolic activity in the eastern tropical North Pacific. Deep-Sea Res 25:689–704

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinney PJ, Loder TC, Groves J (1971) Particulate and dissolved organic matter in the Amerasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Limnol Oceanogr 16:132–137

    Google Scholar 

  • Knauer GA, Martin JH, Bruland KW (1979) Fluxes of particulate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the upper water column of the northeast Pacific. Deep-Sea Res 26:97–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Kremer BP (1981) Dark reactions of photosynthesis. In: Platt T (ed) Physiological bases of phytoplankton ecology. Can Bull Fish Aquat Sci 210:44–54

  • Li WKW (1983) Considerations of errors in estimating kinetic parameters based on Michaelis-Menten formalism in microbial ecology. Limnol Oceanogr 28:185–190

    Google Scholar 

  • Li WKW (1984) Microbial uptake of radiolabeled substrates: estimates of growth rates from time course measurements. Appl Environ Microbiol 47:184–192

    Google Scholar 

  • Li WKW, Dickie PM (1984) Rapid enhancement of heterotrophic but not photosynthetic activities in arctic microbial plankton at mesobiotic temperatures. Polar Biol 3:217–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Longhurst AR, Sameoto DD, Herman AW (1984) Vertical distribution of arctic zooplankton in summer: eastern Canadian archipelago. J Plankton Res 6:137–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Mel'nikov IA, Pavlov GL (1978) Characteristics of organic carbon ditribution in the waters and ice of the Arctic Basin. Oceanology 18:163–167

    Google Scholar 

  • Menzel DW (1974) Primary productivity, dissolved and particulate organic matter, and the sites of oxidation of organic matter. In: Goldberg ED (ed) The sea, vol 5. Marine chemistry. Wiley and Sons, New York, pp 659–678

    Google Scholar 

  • Morita RY, Burton SD (1970) Occurrence, possible significance and metabolism of obligate psychrophiles in marine waters. In: Hood DW (ed) Organic matter in natural waters. Int Mar Sci, Occassional Publ no. 1. University of Alaska Col Alaska, pp 275–285

  • Morita RY, Griffiths RP, Hayasaka SS (1977) Heterotrophic activity of microorganisms in Antarctic waters. In: Llano GA (ed) Adaptations within Antarctic ecosystems. Gulf Publishing, Houston, Texas, pp 99–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Muench RD (1970) The physical oceanography of the northern Baffin Bay region. Ph D ThesisUniversity of Washington, Seattle Wash, 150 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Nemoto T, Harrison G (1981) High latitude ecosystems. In: Longhurst AR (ed) Analysis of marine ecosystems. Academic Press, London, pp 95–126

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostvedt OJ (1955) Zooplankton investigation from weather ship M in the Norwegian Sea 1948–1949. Skiyter 49:1–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Packard TT, Dortch Q (1975) Particulate protein-nitrogen in North Atlantic Surface Waters. Mar Biol 33:347–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Packard TT, Healy ML, Richards FA (1971) Vertical distribution of the activity of the respiratory electron transport system in marine plankton. Limnol Oceanogr 16:60–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Palumbo AV, Ferguson RL, Rublee PA (1984) Size of suspended bacterial cells and association of heterotrophic activity with size fractions of particles in estuarine and coastal waters. Appl Environ Microbiol 48:157–164

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt T, Harrison WG, Irwin B, Horne EP, Gallegos CL (1982) Photosynthesis and photoadaptation of marine phytoplankton in the Arctic. Deep-Sea Res 29:1159–1170

    Google Scholar 

  • Platt T, Subba Rao DV, Smith JC, Li WKW, Irwin B, Horne EPW, Sameoto DD (1983) Photosynthetically-competent phytoplankton from the aphotic zone of the deep ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 10:105–110

    Google Scholar 

  • Pocklington R, Mac Kinnon MD (1982) Organic matter in upwelling off Senegal and the Gambia. Rapp P-V Reun Cons Int Explor Mer 180:254–265

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard PC, Moriarty DJW (1984) Validity of tritiated thymidine method for estimating bacterial growth rates: measurement of isotope dilution during DNA synthesis. Appl Environ Microbiol 48:1076–1083

    Google Scholar 

  • Pomeroy LR, Johannes RE (1968) Occurrence and respiration of ultraplankton in the upper 500 meters of the ocean. Deep-Sea Res 15:381–391

    Google Scholar 

  • Porter KG, Feig YS (1980) The use of the DAPI for indentifying and counting aquatic microflora. Limnol Oceanogr 25:943–948

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp JH (1974) Improved analysis of “particulate organic carbon and nitrogen” from seawater. Limnol Oceanogr 19:984–989

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp JH (1983) The distribution of inorganic nitrogen and dissolved and particulate organic nitrogen in the sea. In: Carpenter EJ, Capone DG (eds) Nitrogen in the marine environment. Academic Press, New York, pp 1–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Smetacek VS (1984) The significance of mass diatom sinking: lifehistory, ecological, evolutionary and geological implications. Mar Biol 84:239–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith JC, Platt T, Harrison WG (1983) Photoadaptation of carboxylating enzymes and photosynthesis during a spring bloom. Prog Oceanogr 12:425–459

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith JC, Plant T, Li WKW, Horne EPW, Harrison WG, Subba Rao DVR, Irwin BD (1985) Arctic marine photoautotrophic picoplankton. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 20:207–220

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith WO, Nelson DM (1985) Phytoplankton bloom produced by a receding ice edge in the Ross Sea: spatial coherence with the density field. Science 227:163–166

    Google Scholar 

  • Strickland JDH, Parsons TR (1972) A practical handbook of seawater analysis. Bull Fish Res Board Can 167:1–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Subba Rao DV, Platt T (1984) Primary production of arctic waters. Polar Biol 3:191–201

    Google Scholar 

  • Townsend DW, Cammen LM (1985) A deep protozoan maximum in the Gulf of Maine. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 24:177–182

    Google Scholar 

  • Trotte JR (1985) Phytoplankton floristic composition and size-specific photosynthesis in the eastern Canadian Arctic. MSc Thesis Dalhousie University, Halifax, 166 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Es FB, Meyer-Reil LA (1982) Biomass and metabolic activity of heterotrophic marine bacteria. Adv Microb Ecol 6:111–170

    Google Scholar 

  • Wangersky PJ (1974) Particulate organic carbon in the Atlantic and Pacific ocenas. Deep-Sea Res 23:457–465

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson SW, Novitsky TJ, Quinby HL, Valois FW (1977) Determination of bacterial numbers and biomass in the marine environment. Appl Environ Microbiol 33:940–946

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiebe PH, Boyd S, Cox JL (1975) Relationships between zooplankton displacement volume, wet weight, dry weight, and carbon. US Fish Bull 73:777–786

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams PJ LeB (1975) Biological and chemical aspects of dissolved organic material in seawater In: Riley JP and Skirnow G (eds) Chem Oceanogr, vol 2. Academic Press, London, pp 301–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams PJ LeB, Jenkinson NW (1982) A transportable microprocessor-controlled precise Winkler titration suitable for field station and shipboard use. Limnol Oceanogr 27:576–584

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams PM, Carlucci AF, Olson R (1980) A deep profile of some biologically important properties in the Central North Pacific gyre. Oceanol Acta 3:471–476

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright RT (1984) Dynamics of pools of dissolved organic carbon. In: Hobbie JE, Williams PJ LeB (eds) Heterotrophic activity in the sea. Plenum Press, New York London, pp 121–154

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright RT, Hobbie JE (1966) The use of glucose and acetate by bacteria and algae in aquatic ecosystems. Ecology 47:447–464

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Marine Ecology Laboratory, P.O. Box 1006, B2Y 4A2, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada

    W. G. Harrison, W. K. W. Li, J. C. Smith, E. J. H. Head & A. R. Longhurst

Authors
  1. W. G. Harrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. W. K. W. Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. J. C. Smith
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. E. J. H. Head
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. R. Longhurst
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Harrison, W.G., Li, W.K.W., Smith, J.C. et al. Depth profiles of plankton, particulate organic matter and microbial activity in the eastern Canadian Arctic during summer. Polar Biol 7, 207–224 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287417

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287417

Keywords

Search

Navigation